Chillicothe man pays for addition to St. Benedict's Abbey

BARTONVILLE — When Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Quincy Alberto Morales recently received an antique altar from a former bishop, he had only a dark room to contain it in at his home at St. Benedict's Abbey in Bartonville.

Businessman Pat Prather, a Chillicothe resident, then stepped up and offered to build an addition to the home that would house the altar and serve as a private chapel for Morales and the other monks at St. Benedict's. Morales dedicated the private chapel in a ceremony Saturday with Prather and other members of the abbey.

"I think it's the most beautiful thing that can happen to a bishop or a priest," said Morales, who has been bishop for three years. "As a bishop, one of my first duties is to pray for my diocese, and having the blessed sacrament in my own house gives me a lot of comfort, and no excuses."

Prather offered to fund the project in memory of Bill Jewell, one of his former business partners, who passed away in 2012. Prather said he was amazed at how beautiful the chapel looked when he first saw it two weeks ago, and that it was fitting for Morales.

"The bishop and I have acquired a wonderful relationship through all of this," Prather said.

The Rev. Frank Dunaway said having a private chapel at a bishop's residence allows Morales a place for serene reflection away from his often busy schedule.

"For the bishop, it's a retreat," Dunaway said. "It's a place where he knows that he can withdraw from his cellphone, from his office staff, from all those other things that would try to interrupt his necessary prayer time."

Between his schedule as bishop and his duties across the diocese, Morales said he rarely has time to adhere to the schedule of the monks at St. Benedict's, and the chapel provides an added convenience to his prayer schedule. Prather is the subject of many of those prayers for his generosity to the bishop.

"This is a very generous man and I pray for him every day," Morales said. "I have him as a good friend, and I think Peoria has a very good man in town in him."

Thomas Bruch can be reached at 686-3188 or tbruch@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @ThomasBruch.